Worlds Apart
by futureperfect
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir face off against an akuma with the ability to send them into a alternate universe. Upon entering the new world, they find their Miraculous are missing and they have also been separated from each other. Will they be able to uncover their Miraculous and return to their own world?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've never published a fanfic before, been too scared and someone off Reddit encouraged me to do it, so here it is… and I promptly messed up the formatting. Anyway, I haven't written in a long time and decided this would be a good practice exercise to get me back into it. Please excuse any grammar issues, unless it's really bad, then send a polite DM.**

Chapter One:

She shivered as a voice ghosted against the shell of her ear "Mari…" her brows showed outward worry and a chill ran up her spine. She tried to scan the area she was in but realized she was paralyzed and could not open her eyes. She heard the voice again as another chill of the air caressed her cheek, finishing her name "...nette."

She could not identify what state of being she was in and attempted to relax, realizing she was struggling with sleep paralysis and was hallucinating. After she was able to relax, she fell into sleep, but abruptly was awoken in her dream. Scanning the area, she was unfamiliar with her surroundings, and the darkness clouding up around her made it difficult for her to find anything which might help her to identify the area. She tilted her head as she heard the same familiar voice again, and became somewhat frightened.

She was aware she was dreaming at this point and floated towards a faint reflection within the dream world, wherein she collided with a solid, yet transparent surface. A mirror? She placed her hands against it and felt the cool surface where a shape of another person was being materialized. At first, she saw a brief image of the love of her life, Adrien, and then the image faded out in several tiny blocks to reveal a reflection of herself. Her face was wrought with worry at what the imagery was attempting to show her. The reflection was not done taking shape and began to mold an image that was originally Marinette, but something was not quite right.

Marinette shut her eyes briefly before opening them abruptly and shouting, "That's not me!" into the darkness where her shout was amplified and echoed.

The mirror image in front of her displayed a crooked smile and asking in a mocking tone, "Can you save them all this time?" before flashing suddenly and the mirror cracked, leaving Marinette staring at a grotesque representation of herself.

She fell to her knees and understood the dream was somewhat conveying her own insecurities she had felt since becoming Ladybug.. She almost began to cry before she felt a hand ghost over her cheek and was met with a person whom she had never met. Her gaze met gentle sapphire eyes which immediately calmed her erratic thoughts and she immediately felt safe. The being opened her mouth and said some words but they were not conveyed with the timing of the movements. Instead, she heard a disembodied voice after the being smiled at her.

"When the time comes for you to choose, I believe in you to make the right one."

Her eyes darted back to the shattered mirror where she saw the fragments of the terrifying version of herself fade and the mirror had recollected back into a solid form. Marinette sat up and cautiously approached it. She saw the palm of a hand pressed against the glass, on the other side. Carefully, she placed her hand against the glass to meet up with the strange one. Colorless, yet haunting eyes pierced her own and the hands in the reflection carefully entwined with hers. "When the time comes, you must choose," it started to fade. "We believe in you.!'

The voice dropped abruptly and the fingers she was touching slipped through her fingers. "Please, you have to-"

At that moment, the puffs of darkness surrounding the floor lifted her up quickly through the air and she was able to regain consciousness where she had fallen asleep after a long night working on new designs. Fresh tears were staining her cheeks and she felt a tiny hand pressed against her cheek. She became frightened for a moment before realizing it was Tikki attempting to gently rouse her from her nightmare.

"What-?" she began and looked at Tikki for a visual confirmation she was listening and to continue her thoughts. "What was that supposed to be? What a weird dream!" she finished as to not give her little friend unnecessary worry. Her vision was starting to blur from the tears she was unaware of until that moment and rubbed her eyes. Tikki flew into her vision, her eyes worried.

"Oh, Tikki, I had the strangest dream and it was so sad, too," she said quietly. "There was a stranger and she was telling me to choose and they believe and me and-"

"Choose what, Marinette?" Tikki questioned with concern in her voice. She settled down on the desk looking at Marinette, her eyes wide with concern.

"I don't remember but it must have been devastating if I'm crying now." She glanced to her alarm clock before scrambling out of bed, and Tikki was able to fly out of the carnage about to occur as Marinette must have been running late. A usual thing for her. "I'm so late!" she shouted. "I'm going to miss Adrien's demo!"

The troubling dream sequence created a panic in which Marinette completely forgot about the student science exhibition Françoise Dupont was hosting Saturday mid-morning. She wanted to be able to support Adrien the best way she knew how and hoped he would notice her efforts. She also hoped she wouldn't be a stuttering mess in his presence. She was meeting Alya and Nino at the event. As class representative, it was strongly suggested to record the event and she convinced her best friend to help her, as Alya was experienced with media coverage from updating the Ladyblog.

As Marinette reached to open the door, it flew open abruptly as someone rushed out of the building and collided into her shoulder, knocking her back. She faltered and panicked as she felt herself falling backwards.


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: First off, thank you for anyone whom followed or added my story to their favorites. It really is encouraging. Originally, this chapter and the first chapter was supposed to be one, but I decided to split it up because of all the words and am not sure if I would be able to continuously write as many words every chapter. To add onto that, I don't know my actual updating schedule for this story. I want to try to update frequently but am not sure if I can meet those standards.**

Chapter Two

The door to the college burst open when Marinette reached for it. Someone rushed outside trying to get away from the building quickly and they poorly suppressed a sob. In their hastiness they collided into Marinette's shoulder, sending her backwards. Marinette barely had time to register what was happening and felt instant panic as she was falling backwards.. Her dread was replaced with relief when strong hands gripped both of her upper arms preventing her fall and returning her to stand upright. She blinked slowly, hearing a person behind her ask a question, but it sounded garbled in her brief confusion.

"Marinette! Are you okay?"

She was asked again but was unable to recognize the voice because of her disorientation from the near accident.

"What happened? Who-?" she thought aloud before remembering someone was holding her steady. Her cheeks became painted with pink as she recognized the soft voice of a boy. The faint blush reached a deep scarlet when she realized it was Adrien and how close her was. She could feel his breath caressing her neck. Adrien had been there to save her! She was baffled.

"O-Oh my gosh, s-sorry A-Adrien! W-wait, isn't your d-demo soon?"

After making sure she was able to stand on her own after the brief collision, he released his grip on her and rubbed the back of his neck nervously as she turned to face him.

"Yeah, in roughly a half hour! I needed some fresh air before I start and just happened to be on my way back in when I saw you. What happened?"

Verdant eyes pierced azure as he patiently waited for her reply and she became very aware of their position, as well as his deep, yet concerned gaze. She blushed even harder. She was internally panicking with how worried he was for her.

"O-Oh someone bumped into m-me as I was entering the b-building,"

She tried to fight the stammer but was unable and she internally scolded herself for it. His eyes flickered over her face to ensure she was okay before realizing he was staring. He released his gaze which she swore was boring into her soul. Meanwhile, he hoped she didn't think he was a creep.

Just then, he felt the presence of the small audience gathered from the display. People were definitely going to talk. Alya and Nino were among the small audience, having witnessed the entire exchange. Devious grins were plastered on their faces as they had been plotting for months to get the two together. Chloe had her arms folded with a sneer on her face towards Marinette with Sabrina behind her with a slight look of shock, as if preparing for the verbal rampage expected of her soon. Chloe would dare not approach Marinette with Adrien near as she couldn't be really nasty at the time. Adrien smiled brightly and Marinette felt like she was staring into the sun.

"Well, I'm happy you were able to make it today, Marinette! I'll see you later!"

He made a nervous laugh and waved at Alya and Nino before hurrying back inside. After a couple of seconds, which seemed like eternity to Marinette, as she quickly replayed their brief interaction in her head, she heard footsteps beside her. Remembering the look of disgust on Chloe's face, she mentally prepared herself. She felt a light tap on the shoulder, and turned to see Alya and Nino standing there, wearing devilish smirks.

"Girl, what was that all about! He was there to catch you like some knight in shining armor!"

Marinette's eyes darted to her best friend and she gave her a momentary dreamy look, recalling Adrien's verdurous eyes and the blush returned to her face. She remembered the person whom collided into her, causing the scene to unfold and worry washed instantly over her features.

"I could hear her sobbing when she hit me. I need to find her before something bad happens!"

Marinette subconsciously rubbed her shoulder where the mystery girl had made contact with her. Shaking her head and giving Alya a look of deep panic, she rushed off in the direction she thought the girl headed.

Akuma attacks had become a regular thing in their city, and she absolutely did not like fighting her friends. Tikki had briefed her the duties of becoming Ladybug and fighting her friends was mentioned in the lines of duty as human emotions were fickle. A moment of wrath, sadness, jealousy, et cetera; could make anyone in the city a target.

She had a brief flashback of fighting Alya and Nino as villains. That recollection made her determined and she ran faster. Nino looked at Alya knowingly and held his hand out to her. She reluctantly handed him her camera, as it was expected she would chase after Marinette. He smiled at her and briefly squeezed her free hand before she gave him a confident smile, and turned to follow her friend, breaking into a sprint. Why was Marinette running so fast?

"Well we better take care of business or that girl is going to miss Adrien's demo!"

She trusted Nino with all her heart to fill in until they returned.

* * *

Sophia ran with tears blinding her sight away from the college, trying to shake the perceived disgrace as she dashed forward. Her lungs burned as she struggled to breathe, not being very athletic. Though not gifted in sports, she was brilliant in other subjects, especially science, where she often had top marks alongside Adrien. Sometimes, though, she would get carried away in her research which often made her a target for bullying with her unconventional theories. Today was supposed to be her time in the limelight and prove to everyone she was right, especially her teacher, Ms. Mendeleiev, whom had never really agreed with her theories but encouraged her investigations nonetheless.

She presented a theory on parallel worlds and alternate timelines with months upon months of research and backing her idea and the audience had gone silent. Fear invaded her mind as she imagined being laughed out of the building, especially from her main tormentor, Chloe. She also envisioned her crush laughing at her and even saw her friendly rival rolling his eyes at her presentation, when he had previously supported her and even helped her in the library. She couldn't believe it and was certain she was going to place top for her hard work. She didn't even want to face her parents, feeling as if any dreams for her future were dashed. As if the maelstrom of her negative feelings weren't enough, she slammed into the school's sweetheart on the way out, possibly hurting her.

She stopped running and fell to her knees into a soft patch of grass with a poor attempt to catch her breath. The pessimistic feelings were the perfect bait for a dark butterfly to perch near her, gauging the time to transform her into Hawk Moth's latest minion.

She let her fists ball up on top of her knees and felt the tears which had streamed down her cheeks fall on her knuckles.

"I am a fool!" she whispered furiously out loud.

She folded over and sobbed louder losing any composure she had left. Her failure to make a convincing argument amplified and crowded her mind, drowning out the people in the background going about their day. A couple stopped and stared at her with worried eyes, but did not approach her as they did not know what they could say. Others ignored her and went about their day, their minds filled with their own problems.

The peculiar butterfly took off and flew towards the shattered girl as she fell lower, her face almost touching her knees and her arms had wrapped around herself protectively. She let the thoughts flood her mind with how she was ridiculed in front of an audience, which had doubled in her mind because of the evil presence lurking nearby.

Hawk Moth smirked from the shadows as the akuma begun to sink into the USB drive she held. He began his taunt. A faint butterfly shaped mask appeared in front of her surprised eyes as she broke out of her sobbing trance to feel a smug smile creep along her mouth.

" _They'll never understand your theory because they aren't as smart as you, Universitas!"_

She clenched her fists in anger as she began to her transformation into Hawk Moth's latest villain. Hawk Moth continued to exaggerate the humiliating memories she had suffered not too long ago. He enhanced her jealous rage by flashing memories of her spending all of her free time in the library while others had social lives. Images danced in her mind as she remembered the looks on her friends' faces as she turned down social outings with them to pour countless hours into her research which she was sure would finally catch her crush's attention. That's not completely why she did it though, she wanted to be recognized for everything she sacrificed for today..

Her fingernails dug deep into her palm, leaving small traces of blood within the crescent moon markings her long, unkempt nails had created in her skin. A particular memory flickered front and center which showed her crush's face as she turned down an after school club meeting because she had to prepare. Spiteful tears cascaded after realizing she might have passed up a chance with him. That moment augmented the rage and jealousy Hawk Moth was also surplusing to her. In all of this time, one of her minor goals of her thesis was to win attention from him and she had it before. It was too late now. He wouldn't want to be seen with the laughing stock of the school.

She had played the winning ceremony many times in her head before the shame and now it seemed like a diluted and foolish dream. Hawk Moth's mocking voice saturated all sound once he had destroyed any rational thought from Sophia.

 _"How dare they not recognize all of your hard work, Universitas, you must take revenge!"_

His voice continued to provoke her into a blind rage to attack the school and draw the attention of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"That's _right_ , Hawk Moth, I'll show _them who the fools are,_ " she laughed almost manically. "And _I'll_ be the first one to succeed in claiming Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous'!"

An inky, violet light materialized around her fist, where she was holding the USB drive the akuma touched and began to take shape of a long pentagon, wrapping around her forearm, forming a shield like weapon with a tyrian core. She found a small piece to grip firmly, but it would not fall as it shaped around her arm comfortably. She would use this new tool to exact her revenge. Hawk Moth taunted her further, reminding her to claim the Miraculous' before she would serve them her perceived justice.

A star shaped platform appeared under her feet from the dark smoke swirling around her, with her destination set on the school not very far away.

 _They would pay._


	3. Chapter Three

**Worlds Apart: Chapter Three**

Marinette felt an overwhelming burst of darkness in the area as she saw traces of unnatural smoke ahead of her. The unwelcome feeling of dread was made worse when she felt goosebumps on her arm and the hair on her neck created a tense situation. She knew she was too late to help the mystery girl and it was confirmed once she heard the distant haunting laughter common among those who become akumatized. Her breath faltered when she realized she would have to fight another innocent person caught up in Hawk Moth's web of deceit. Her sprinting slowed to a light jog until she had stopped completely and to catch her breath so she could prepare for the inevitable battle.

Her eyes scanned the area quickly to find a place to change into Ladybug away from curious eyes. She froze momentarily when she heard the slapping of pavement behind her and sighed in relief when she realized it was Alya. She was glad to see her but would be unable to become Ladybug if she was near. She briefly worried for her safety before assuring herself that Alya was tough and wouldn't be caught in a compromising situation so easily.

She quickly licked her lip, looking for some hint of moisture after all of that running and turned around to face her best friend.

"Alya, this is bad. We're in danger. That girl has been deluded by Hawk Moth. I saw the black smoke. We need to get out of here!"

She motioned for Alya to go back but she wasn't about to leave her best friend behind to fend for herself. Alya took her by the arm and dragged her behind a street sign where they were allowed some coverage from the shrubbery along the street.

"Come on girl, we need to go somewhere safe and wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir."

She tried to urge her further away from openess of the street, between some buildings so they could hide for the moment. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted Nino and Adrien of the possible danger scene near the school. Marinette moved towards the outlet and craned her neck, attempting to see who transformed and let out a gasp. She recognized that girl as someone who was at the top of their class, alongside Max and Adrien. She did not know her name for certain, but remembered seeing her in the library often recording research into a notebook. She also remembered Adrien talking to this girl several times in the library.

 _Adrien_.

His piercing gaze flashed into her mind briefly and she became worried. He was at the show and his demo was soon. Was this girl his competition at the show that day? What if he was her target for revenge? She began to exit the alley before Alya's strong grip pulled her back into reality.

"Marinette. Don't. It isn't safe," she whispered.

Marinette fought to break her grip, her Ladybug instincts kicking in. She broke out of Alya's grip only to look back at her briefly before opening spewing out some words in a hurry.

"She could be after Adrien, Alya! That girl may have been in the competition today!"

She broke off into a sprint in the direction of the school to create some distance between her friend so she could make the secret transition into Ladybug.

Alya scolded herself inwardly for losing her grip on Marinette and hesitated before leaving after her. She stopped dead in her tracks as she heard a foreign sound which shook her to the core. Fear washed over her as she thought about Mari. She quickly pulled up her messages on her phone and sent Nino another text, explaining their situation. Marinette had run off and she needed to find her and get her to safety before something happened. Her screen lit up as Nino had replied quickly, letting her know many of the people at the show evacuation but he couldn't find Adrien. He also asked if she was safe. She replied yes, but she was very worried about Mari. She didn't give another look at the phone, and checked her surroundings before leaving the corridor towards the direction Marinette ran to.

A curious thought crossed her mind: When there is an akuma attack, Adrien is often no where to be found. She shook her head, she didn't have time to think like that right now.

"Mari, please be safe," she silently prayed before breaking into a sprint.

* * *

Marinette released a heavy sigh once she created enough distance between Alya's investigative eyes and darted behind a street advertisement to begin her transformation. Tikki flew out of her purse to meet the gaze of her chosen, gave her a look of determination and nodded, ready to go.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette cried in a mix of excitement and fear.

A flutter in levels of pink swirled around Marinette as Tikki flew into her plain earrings to begin her transformation into Ladybug. Her earrings reflected red and were adorned with five black spots to show her miraculous was active with Tikki housed inside. Her mask materialized out of thin air, covering the upper side of her face. Crimson armor dotted with black spots encased her civilian clothes into a form fitting suit as a yo-yo with the same pattern of her earrings appeared on her hip. She clenched her fists momentarily, mentally preparing herself for the challenge ahead. At least she wouldn't be alone, she could always count on Chat Noir to support her in battle.

Moments after her transformation ended, Alya was in her sight with a frightened look plastered on her face. She caught sight of Ladybug and her fear faded into a look of awe. She reached for her phone to capture the heroine when she remembered the danger Marinette was putting herself in and became disquieted when she wasn't able to see her in the vicinity. She could never keep up with Marinette. She was more of a marathon runner and not a sprinter. She wondered how she was so fast when she never saw her working out much. She shook her head and jogged towards Ladybug.

"Ladybug! I've lost sight of Marinette. Have you seen her? I'm scared for her safety."

Alya was afraid of her answer, truth be told. Marinette had her heart in the right place, but didn't think through some of her actions, which often landed her in trouble, especially with Chloe.

Ladybug's brilliant blue eyes flashed towards Alya and she smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Alya. I was able to get Marinette to safety. Please find a safe place to hide for now. Do not worry, Chat Noir and I will restore this girl to her regular self!"

Before Alya could reply, Ladybug had already pulled the yo-yo off her hip and zipped off into the sky towards the akuma. She felt bad for not knowing the victim's name and knew that was part of the problem of why she was akumatized.

Alya cleared her head of worry, trusting Ladybug's words that Marinette was safe and sprinted towards the school to meet up with Nino and Adrien. She knew Paris could count on Ladybug and Chat Noir to restore order.

* * *

Meeting Hawk Moth's latest minion wasn't difficult for Ladybug. Universitas was enveloped in a an aura of black, purple and blue smoke. The aura was strangely beautiful as the colors reminded anyone whom looked at it of a night sky.

Universitas slowed her transportation before making the grand appearance at the show. She was always an analytical thinker and the trait would resonate in her villain form. She took a moment to test out the powers which Hawk Moth blessed her.

"What is this thing on my arm?" she wondered aloud, looking to examine the shield-like contraption. Flexing different muscles and making motions with her hand and fingers protruding weapons from the end of the part above her wrist. She smiled at the different motions she was able to have just by moving her index finger slightly or pairing it with her middle finger. She balled her hand to a fist against the bar against her hand and a ball of energy shot out towards a street lamp. Within seconds, the structure was gone in a sea of stars. She was happy. She could get rid of that annoying Chat Noir with this found power. She had other plans for Ladybug.

" _No! I need both Miraculous together, Universitas! Make sure you take Chat Noir's ring before you use that!_ " Hawk Moth screeched into her mind. A brief moment of anger crossed her features before she went back to inspecting her powers. So he could read her thoughts, that could be troublesome.

"Hmm. What else can I do then?" she wondered out loud before feeling something hitting her back. She looked over her shoulder and saw Ladybug standing there, ready to fight.

"Ladybug! It seems you are more of a pest and less of a lady. Didn't you know it's rude to bother someone when they're obviously busy?"

In one quick motion, she whipped around and punched the air towards Ladybug. As she threw the punch, she popped a "Bang!" from her mouth, grinning insanely as she released an exaggerated G sound. A stream of sparkling projectiles surrounded by bright violet energy sped towards Ladybug. Universitas' eyes widened and then slanted in a mixture of disappointment and shock as a black blur shielded Ladybug from the onslaught. The sound of air being cut pierced her ears as the projectiles were shredded by Chat Noir's rapidly spinning staff.

"Whoah! Looks like I made it just in time, My Lady!" Chat Noir winked at her before leaping back to stand beside her, while making an attempt to measure the newest villain's ability. He held the staff perpendicular to his body, and prepared for another spray of energy projectiles.

 **A/N: I should be studying for a test at the end of the week but tomorrow is my birthday and I wanted to get another chapter out! I want to flesh out a decent fight scene and feel this chapter will be wayyyyy too long if I do it now. So until then!**


	4. Chapter Four

Worlds Apart, Chapter Four

Ladybug's eyes widened as she braced to defend herself from the onslaught of bullets and her hand naturally flew to grasp her yo-yo. She flicked the disc from her hand to create a shield but felt it return when a dark blur rushed in front of her. She felt a massive blast of air and winced slightly as high pitched whirs rang in her ears. Trying to process what happened, she took a deep breath and concentrated on the source of the wind. She heard disintegration of the projectiles and was able to see the form of the blur. She was internally thankful and let a smile creep across her lips as she saw Chat Noir standing protectively in front of her, his rapidly spinning staff coming to a slow down. He usually had perfect timing after all.

She grasped her yo-yo tightly, unsure of the villain's thought plan and called out to her partner. He flashed her a cheesy grin, happy to be appreciated by her.

"Looks like I made it just in time, My Lady!" his grin remained as he strafed backwards to stand level with his partner. There was no doubt in his mind if he was late, she would have been able to hold her ground from Universitas' barrage, yet he felt proud to protect someone so important to him. Tapping his staff against his shoulder, he tried to measure what they were up against, and also tried to determine the villain. She had a familiarity about her, but he couldn't place it straight away.

"Who is this?" his voice questioned and he made a quick tilt of his towards Universitas. Ladybug simply shook her head while making a quixotic expression as she didn't catch the name.

Universitas quickly became irritated after he asked the question but she decided he wasn't deserving of words to reply. In her eyes, Chat Noir was second place to Ladybug, even if the city equally appreciated the hard work from the duo. Her real obstacle would be the red-clad heroine and slaying her was a way to meet her end goal. She knew once she seized Ladybug's miraculous, Chat Noir's would easily fall into her hands afterwards. She intended to use his crush on Ladybug against him.

Universitas was somewhat disappointed that her rain of death was deflected by Chat, but reminded herself it was a test to measure her enemies. She slid her bottom lip painfully against her teeth as she formulated a new plan. However, in an instance she became blinded by rage, and threw her arm down, which extracted a glowing blade from the device. It made a thick slicing sound through the air, drawing the attention of the black cat. His ears twitched as the blade softly hummed in anticipation. His eyes darted as the villain slightly jumped backwards and he heard another mechanical type of sound as she was lifted into the air at a rapid speed. He noticed the sudden change in her weapon and gathered himself to prepare for melee with their foe. In one swift motion, she was speeding towards the two and he barely had time to register her as she swung the blade towards his face; missing connection by mere millimeters. He yelped as he moved his head backwards to miss the contact, thankful for his heightened senses. Ladybug gasped as a couple of his hairs were sliced off. She noticed the girl hesitated slightly, but why?

Universitas became aggravated by her slight indecision as her blade barely missed the cat's face. She briefly flashed back to the moment it happened – when she was immediately reminded of her academic rival, Adrien Agreste, when she saw his bright green eyes and blond hair. For a moment something inside her distracted her long enough to allow her to make the mistake.

Her hostility was not originally aimed for him and she growled. She felt like she was losing her original objective and her thoughts were warped in such a manner which constantly called back the feeling of humiliation she suffered at her presentation. The akuma bonded inside her amplified the feelings tenfold, and the influence Hawk Moth had over her made it appear worse than it really was. She thought for certain if Adrien's demo was before hers, he would have laughed her out of the building, too. Deep down, her old self tried to hold on, but everything inside became too overwhelming and her emotions were clouded. Ladybug's proximity was the only thing keeping her old self alive. Hawk Moth pressed her further to stamp out any light left within her by removing Ladybug from the scene.

Her low growl turned into a screech of despair as she struggled to remove the light from her insides. Ladybug noticed the internal struggle and used the opportunity to throw her yo-yo around the girl's leg. She was easily able to ensnare it and pulled back, interrupting the girl's chain of thoughts. She stumbled slightly, losing footing on the platform and began to fall. As she was falling, she turned the weapon towards Ladybug and blasted another round of energy charged bullets at her. She gasped as they were bigger and had doubled in quantity from the previous round. The sudden attack caused Ladybug to recall her yo-yo and roll away from the shots. When she rose to her feet, she gasped in disbelief as the energy rounds had left deep, smoking holes in the concrete. She regained her composure and looked where Universitas had landed on the ground. Her face was against the pavement.

Ladybug was unable to see the rancor in the offender's face. Universitas was severely frustrated but needed to defeat the duo for the sake of getting her pay back. Rising to a kneeling position, she shot Ladybug a grin of insanity before abruptly lifting her arm and slamming the end of the device into the ground. Ladybug shouted at Chat Noir to intercept but he was unable, and he immediately sprung into action but slammed into an invisible wall around the girl. Once he landed on his butt, he was clearly able to see the honey comb patterned shell she made for herself. She was able to charge it up as she was laying on the ground, unmoving. Ladybug moved to action but was stopped as the ground began to shake her off balance. Waves of energy cascaded over the villain and charged into the device at her arm as she shot energy blasts into the pavement. The structure gave way after seconds and forked into patterns towards the duo.

Chat Noir, being usually quick on his feet jumped into the air and landed on a street post. Ladybug was quick enough to pull herself to the safety of a side of a building.

"Chat Noir! Her weapon is dangerous! We need to find the akuma, and fast!" she shouted as loud as she could over the noise the villain was making. All he could make out from all the disruption was 'dangerous. He knew that much was true and his eyes widened at the power she was blasting causing more forking further down the street – towards the college. He became worried for his classmates. He had checked with Nino before transforming to Chat Noir and most of the students were safe.

What was this girl's true beef and why did she look so familiar. That's when it hit him and it all made sense. All of that time he spent around Sophia, helping her with her research, encouraging her to present it at the fair and witnessing all her hard work. He felt a pang of guilt, as he had made a comment about her project being mostly theories and knew he helped attribute to her akumatization. Yet, he couldn't tell Ladybug he knew exactly who she was. That might put his identity in danger. His thoughts were dispersed when his ears perked up from the maniacal laughter emitting from Universitas.

"Ahahaha. How dare you? Dangerous! The only true danger has been those idiots at the college. Those who dared to laugh at me. I will show them... And I will show you," she mocked. Her voice matched the contorted look of psychosis on her face. Ladybug closed her eyes sadly. She felt that the villain's light was too far gone at this point. They had never fought someone so dark, yet. Hawk Moth was definitely embodied darkness, but they have never faced him in person. She became worried for them both.

The pair turned their full attention to the girl in front of them. She had risen to stand fully after kneeling for so long.

"Allow me, Universitas to show you the reality of my anger!"

Chat felt briefly guilty again at the level of cheesiness in the villain's challenge as he lifted an eyebrow and muttered, "Okay". Ladybug frowned at Chat Noir briefly as he was underestimating the villain in front of them, however, Ladybug's sensitivity to the darkness fell flat on the unlucky Chat Noir.

Universitas certainly had surprise on her side, with that enigma of a weapon, and did not fail her as the moment after she fully stood, several streams of violet energy had burst from the ground. Ladybug gasped as she quickly assessed what was happening.

"Chat Noir, move!" she cried urgently, noticing the street lamp he was perched on was within line of fire from where she created the fissures. Chat Noir didn't have time to make a creative pun as he pushed off the lamp, getting out of the way. Within moments of where he was previously, a burst of energy shot out from the opening in the street, decimating the street lamp.

Ladybug's eyes flashed with terror when she realized Chat Noir would have been seriously injured from that erratic burst. She looked to the horizon as she heard heavy discharges from around the city and gasped as when she felt reverberations from behind. She worried about Chat's sensitive ears if hers were pounding. Doubt washed over her features as pillars of light burst from the ground, shooting endlessly into the sky. There were so many. For once during her transformation, she worried that Lucky Charm would not save them; she couldn't think like that right now. The city appeared to be encased by the columns of light.

She smiled internally to her audience, which was her civilian self and Hawk Moth, watching. She thought she saw a glimpse of horror on his face but probably imagined it. After all, if he wanted, he could take it away, right?

"Well, well Hawk Moth, it appears I have the entire city to myself, literally," she cackled inside her mind. "Just wait."

* * *

 _'You want to destroy those who you feel wronged you?' A meek voice challenged her state of mind. She realized she was extremely bloodthirsty at the time, as the evil Hawk Moth pumped inside of her being was corrupting her very moral compass._

 _'N-No... I just want them to realize I'm right...' she felt a heavy weight fall on her, effectively snuffing out that last little voice in her mind. Any speck of light she may have held on to was completely snuffed out._

"I have to show them what their ignorance could not admit," she laughed to herself, and Chat Noir furrowed his brow a moment. He knew at that moment their usual tactics would not work as Sophia was engulfed in the darkness and temptation of Hawk Moth.

* * *

Alya's grip on Nino's forearm turned vice like as the pillars of light shot into the air, actively deflecting the sun from Paris. In that moment, she became extremely frightened. She had been trying to show Nino she could be brave, but the moment her hazel eyes saw the eerie light in the sky, she lost it. She felt his hand clasp hers reassuringly.

"Ladybug won't let us down," he smiled at her. She nodded but deep down, she wasn't so sure this time. Something felt wrong. She found courage to peel her eyes away from the sky and focus on him, believing Ladybug would save them. As she closed her eyes though, everything went dark and she no longer was able to feel Nino's hand around hers.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay in the chapter, it's been a long time since I've attempted to write any action scenes and had a lot of difficulty doing so. I hope I did okay. I have the next chapter continuing the fight in the works, it's the editing that's the real hard part. Thank you to anyone who reads this.**


	5. Chapter Four, Part II

Worlds Apart, Chapter Four, Part Two

Ladybug touched down where the street was intact to stare in silence as towers of light Universitas had called devastated the city. Her eyes widened more as she saw some slice effortlessly through structures like butter and internally panicked. _What if people had been injured or died when she erected them?_ Her thoughts became progressively dangerous to the point where she had to take a deep breath as to not raise further negative thoughts. The racing thoughts had exhausted her to a point where she didn't notice Chat Noir standing next to her, nor did she feel his comforting hand on her shoulder as she watched, feeling powerless.

"Bugaboo?" he tried to rouse her out of her thinking and focus on the situation. She shook her head as she regained her composure and touched his hand thankfully. He smiled and withdrew it, bringing his staff to the front again, as if waiting on what the girl was going to do next.

"So you've trapped us, what now?" he questioned as Ladybug returned to an empowered stance, ready to go. She gripped the yo-yo tightly in her hand as she readied for combat.

Chat's ears twitched at an unworldly growl reverberating from the girl and saw her other hand twitch at his remark. Her face remain unchanged in the twisted emotion which troubled him. He planted his feet on the concrete as a faint sound offended his ears. It was something only he could hear and made him extremely uneasy. He was almost too late to witness what was happening. Looking up, one of the shorter columns to their side was falling where the duo was.

Acting without hesitation, he scooped Ladybug into his arms and vaulted away as the pillar crashed with a sickening crack to the pavement where they stood only seconds ago. She squeaked in surprised and snapped fully back to reality. Once they were out of the way, he set her upright.

"Thank you for that, kitty."

She took a few moments to allow her breath to catch up with the magnitude of the moment and he briefly smiled at her as she was unscathed. However, it faded quickly and an intense seriousness cascaded over his features. Chat was furious. Universitas had endangered Ladybug's life and he almost didn't react in time. He was going to make sure to defeat her. She touched his arm to snap him out of the anger in a manner of thankfulness and released her yo-yo from her grip. She rushed forward towards the girl to engage her as Chat followed closely behind. At the last moment, he pushed his staff into the ground to propel him forward before Ladybug and swung his staff heavily towards the girl's naked arm. She deflected it with ease and strafed to the side to get a better vantage point.

"Two versus one, is it?"

He twirled the staff in his hand like a helicopter and dashed forward towards her. She released a yelp when she was clipped by the rapidly spinning pole-arm and threw her bladed shield into the whirlwind of steel. A loud, high pitched pang echoed through the empty area and backed away, slightly off guard. She saw an opening and took it, thrusting her fist forward directly into Chat's chest. The blade had been pulled back to make a blunt strike instead of piercing him. He was unaffected by the quick contact due to Plagg's magical armor but was too late to notice the weak punch was intentional as Universitas shouted "BANG"! The energy connected with his chest and was knocked back several hundred feet only to be stopped when his back crashed into the wall of a building.

Ladybug stared in shock as he flew past her, so she extended her yo-yo out to soften the blow, but wasn't quick enough to rescue him. Next thing she heard was air being cut as Universitas focused on her. She twisted away from the attack and the girl stumbled forward, losing her balance as she missed. Instantly, she turned to dispense energy at Ladybug, but her reaction was slow when the yo-yo wrapped around her unarmored hand. She pulled back roughly on the string and it was enough to divert the eruption elsewhere. Small explosions sounded in the distance.

Universitas growled and pulled her captured arm back in a fury which pulled Ladybug forward and she returned the favor to the heroine. Luckily, the girl did not send any energy blast when she made contact with Ladybug's chest.

She grimaced shortly, wondering if Chat recovered but focused on the task at hand. She released her yo-yo's grip on the girl's arm, realizing the danger of close melee combat and moved back to create distance. The area was eerily quiet, despite the pulsing of the pillars surrounding the three of them. Marinette drew in a deep breath, and shifted her eyes to the side to attempt to see if Chat had recovered from the push back. In the moment she took focus off the villain, she was brought back to attention as the girl took time to dash forward on her vehicle and she felt the wind knocked out of her as Universitas punched her in the stomach. She fell on her knees and gasped as steam rose from her suit. Universitas grinned at her as she stood above her. She had taken a cheap shot at her but kept the grin plastered on her face.

"How do you like that, little bug?" she ridiculed. Ladybug clenched her teeth and made a sound of disgust, looking up at the villain angrily.

"So you fight dirty..." she gasped for air.

"It's two versus one, darling. However, it seems like your kitten is taking a cat nap."

Universitas clicked her tongue in a jeering manner and swung the weapon towards her head. Metal against metal pierced Ladybug's ears as the villain withdrew before she was able to hit Ladybug. Chat's staff shredded air rapidly, connecting with the girl's hand. She screeched and reversed her hand. He stood several feet away with a menacing, yet determined look on his face and hissed at the villain, baring his canines.

She looked up and clapped her hands in a taunting motion, happy she had finally peaked his fury.

"Stay right here."

She commanded Ladybug with a playful, sing-song tone as the heroine was collecting her breath. She clutched at the ground in frustration. She knew it would be dangerous for him to engage the villain alone and struggled to rise to her feet. Meanwhile Universitas skipped towards Chat Nor, feeling his seething rage looming in the air. She had crossed the line when she assaulted Ladybug. Though she was saved from further injury, his staff was out of sight, making him unarmed. He balled his fists together as he knew he had come to a last resort.

 _Alright_ , he softly impelled. _I can do this_.

As she closed the distance she still held a childlike aura around her, toying with the black cat's emotions.

"Ready to play, kitty?"

The sing-song tone lingered and his eye twitched when she called him the nickname Ladybug used for him. He reminded himself he was unarmed but could fight with his claws. Cheerfully, she engaged him first, swinging her weapon towards him. It was not backed with energy intentionally because it was a warning to test if he was in order. Even being previously knocked out, he was able to counter her action and move away. She followed up with a kick and he blocked it with his arm and then grabbed at her ankle to pull her forward. She fell on her back with a thud. She laughed and slowly rose up, dusting her outfit of debris.

"Are you serious now, cat?"

The carefree voice had ceased and emotion had left her. He faced her and took a defensive stance, waiting for her to resume.

"Let's finish this!" he bitterly shot back at her. "I'm tired of this game!"

He bared his fangs again when she finally stood up and her face had lost the twisted display once held when she blitzed him the first time. She saw the fault in his stance, noting he was injured from before. She threw down her arm, reproducing the blade from earlier and dashed at him, aiming for his weak side. He quickly dodged and forced his elbow down on the shielded mechanism she carried. The corner of her mouth twitch upward, unfazed by the attack and a medium powered shock pricked his elbow enough to make him fall away. She brought her arm back to strike as he struggled before Ladybug's yo-yo zipped through the air, and wrapped around the girl's arm to protect her partner.

"Ugh! You're so annoying, can't you see we're busy?!"

She shot a blast of energy up the yo-yo's string which acted like a conductor towards Ladybug. Quickly thinking, she recalled the disc before releasing it on the ground to avoid electrocution. She carefully picked it up once she figured it was safe and charged towards the brawl. A familiar feeling of being unable to move engulfed her. She felt this before when Alya was Akumatized. She realized she was stopped in time and felt vibrations among her bones which felt strange.

Universitas held a smug look as she had fired a blast at Ladybug which froze time for her in which she could not move. Once she saw Ladybug was incapacitated, she turned back to Chat Noir and stab her hand where he had been recovering. He was able to roll away when it sliced through the grassy area he had been crouching. He shot a concerned look towards Ladybug, seeing she was frozen, but otherwise not in danger and moved behind Universitas whence he shouted out for Cataclysm to banish her weapon.

Her ears alerted her to the grotesque sound of dark energy which swirled around his fist and easily dodged. She shot a ball towards his face where he instinctively dodged. She was within hugging distance in what seemed like seconds when she fired directly into his chest. He didn't have time to react and fell backwards again landing on his backside.

"Well, kitty, I think it's time to end this don't you think?"

He seethed further when she spoke the name his Lady affectionately used. In his ire he hit the ground where Universitas had been standing, knocking her off her feet as Cataclysm ripped through the concrete, leaving her tripping. He inwardly cursed himself for wasting his one shot on that. He heard the laughter, as she was mocking his mistake. She had fallen but he didn't allow her time to recove and pounced her as he started punching her body to knock her down until Ladybug could free herself.

" _Where's her damn Akuma?"_

He wondered, as it wasn't guaranteed it was housed in the weapon, as several villains in the past had weapons but were not the cage. He saw a necklace around her neck and ripped it off her neck. He smiled, thinking he won but was knocked back to reality when she hooked her arm, the blade slashing at his stomach to cause him to recoil from her. She crouched and quickly fired a round of energy at him. As his movement was caused mostly by panic, he wasn't able to get away. He quickly found himself in the same predicament as Ladybug. He couldn't move. She had hidden that ability from them to blindside them after they became exhausted.

Returning back to her child-like game playing she swayed towards him, and lifted the weapon once more. She bared her teeth at him and growled three words which would be the last he would hear.

"Ein!"

He heard her feet crunch against the ruin of the street as she made her way to him. His heart thudded painfully in his chest. He wondered if she was going to take the Miraculous from his finger as she moved to him. He was able to gaze down at the ring and see his time as Chat Noir was coming to a close.

"ZWEI!"

Her voice was angrier than he had heard it the entire fight. He was scared. He couldn't move. Terror was taking over his thinking. His thoughts quickly flashed to that of His Lady, and her brilliant smile which brought him the same kind of joy his mother brought him. He loved her so much and was saddened that he couldn't protect her. He couldn't even close his eyes as memories of friends from school appeared before him. The blissful times he had when he learned what true friendship was. He was unable to protect Nino, after all the times he swore to. He even thought about Chloe, who was his first friend, and though she was mean at times, he treasured it. Then, there was the two girls who sat in front of him. Sassy Alya, who usually got his mind straight when he acted like a dolt; then there was kind and beautiful Marinette, who he had gotten to know better over the years, and had certainly noticed her. If Ladybug wasn't clouding his mind, he might have pursued her. He remembered earlier in the day when he caught her from falling and his vision became saturated with her penetrating sapphire eyes. The same color as-

"BUH-BYE!"

He felt the blast overtake him. The light of the sky faded into a Stygian blackness but he smiled, remembering the cerulean eyes of his Lady he failed to defend. Darkness continued to swallow Adrien and he felt like the falling would never cease. The tight feeling which suffocated him earlier had fled and he only felt the chill of cool air as he drifted.

Universitas ascended in elation as she was successful in eliminating the cat. Her face became dead once she realized she needed to finish the job before she could truly celebrate. She spun on her heel and began marching towards the heroine. Her face held no emotion and her psychosis was no longer reflected on her features. Hawk Moth lashed out at Universitas, but found he no longer held power over her once the darkness took her. Reluctant to let her know she was free of his influence he ordered for her to take Ladybug's Miraculous while she was unable to flee.

Marinette felt part of her being ripped away and her heart pounded heavily. She always thought of him as her best friend and loved him as such. She struggled against the hold Universitas had on her and attempted to cry out his alias. She was only able to release a muffled cry because she could not move her mouth. Her head pounded in absolute fear as the villain stood meters away from her. She said nothing as she noted Ladybug was clutching her yo-yo. In one easy motion, Universitas flicked the weapon out of her grasp and it fell to the ground, making a sound like cheap plastic clattering against pavement.

"This is goodbye."

Her voice deadpanned before firing the same blast at Ladybug, ready to end her as she did to Chat Noir. The attack ripped towards Ladybug and she knew it was over once several tears crashed over her face from the overwhelming loss of Chat. The prison she was in before dissipated from her completely and she felt a waterfall of tears her cheeks. She had failed Paris. She had failed her parents. She had failed her friends. And... Adrien.

She closed her eyes at the last realization and remembered the way he held her earlier that morning and the way his verdant eyes bore into her azure ones. She remembered all the times she had together with Alya and her parents before allowing her eyes to flutter shut.

She no longer felt much of anything as the sea of darkness carried her away. She was unable to hear anything. It was a heavy silence as she noticed she couldn't hear birds or city ambiance. She was also unable to hear any ringing or pulsing noises that accompanied silence. It was peaceful.

 **A/N: I hope this wasn't too far out of reach as I wanted to conclude the combat for this part. I had a lot of fun writing the combat, but not a lot of fun editing it :P**


	6. Chapter Five

**Worlds Apart Chapter Five**

Adrien was thrust into tenebrosity the moment he felt the chill of the wind leave him. As the sky collapsed before his eyes, his eyes closed and he accepted his fate. Wandering this eternal place, he endlessly tried to reach towards something far away. After many attempts to open his eyes to escape the eternal darkness had failed, he learned to accept he was trapped in limbo. Floating the unending river of time, haunting violet lights pulsed in sync with his heart beat to serve as a reminder of his previous being's failure. As each beat paused, the light faded and darkness flooded back to him in a comforting huge, finally feeling at ease. Occasionally he would hear an echo of familiar laughter which was pleasant to him and sometimes soft azure eyes would flash before him; reminding him of someone he cared for.

The soft laughter and brilliant blue eyes delivered unto him true peace and he desperately struggled to hold that feeling. He drifted through time immemorial until a faint melody chipped away the darkness. The small cracks created by the foreign tune exploded his world eventually and he wondered how much time he had lost while there. It had been a time since he thought about seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years which had ceased in that world. He felt the subtle wave of nausea rush over him as other sounds began to flood to him.

The sounds reminded him of ones he had heard while being alive. Movement fluttered around him and fauna chirped quietly as the melody flooded into his ears which began to rouse him from his sail on the timeless stream. The music was one familiar to him but that seemed like an eternity ago. He was slowly becoming aware he had been asleep for a while and was coming out of limbo somewhere. He was unable to completely pass while floating because of his failure to save Her.

The noise continued to prod him until he had mostly regained his hearing when his other senses were awakening too. His feeling of drifting came to an abrupt halt when he felt engulfed by something firm, but soft. As a faint breeze caressed his cheek, he became afraid, reminded of the feeling he felt before falling into his endless sleep. The breeze carried a fresh scent and he believed he was slipping into true death. His eyes began to move slowly behind the lidded veil as he heard garbled conversation around him.

"ured.."

"On't wake up. Eeen asleep for tw-"

His ears twitched when a deep comforting voice entered the conversation close by and he reached for an awake state of being. His eyes darted quickly as someone else spoke, seeming to have a muted conversation involving him. Gradually, he was able to smell nature as things moved around him and it tickled his nose, tempting him to release. The darkness was something he did not intend to leave but he began to feel as if he was sinking through the cloud he was on.

"I'm going out again to find them. He's been this way too long," another voice said almost inaudibly as a mumble.

Inwardly, he wondered "what way". He felt his heartbeat pound against his chest as he became increasingly nervous and his eyes were moving rapidly in such a way he was seeing lightning behind his eyelids. Struggling to open his eyes, he was becoming increasingly worried. He was still asleep and felt so secure in the darkness he felt leaving him by the minute. The soft humming ceased and he heard a sigh release before the humming resumed.

"His wound isn't completely healing but it stopped bleeding quite some time ago. How is he alive? It's quite odd," the hummer said. He finally recognized them as a woman and after she said her piece the gentle melody continued.

He was aware he couldn't stay much longer in his state, especially when something warm touched his side. He tried groaning at the invasive sensation but found his mouth gridlocked. His fingers twitched against the cloud he was on until he was able to fist it. The cloud against his body was in fact a fabric he found irritating as his eyes slowly began to open, unlocking a soft glow of myriad colors above him.

"We can try to close it again as Emma suggested."

He heard some clattering around him as the invasive touch was removed from his side.

"There was also a big gash in his stomach which had some complications but Rose was able to stop it from growing."

He didn't much like the conversation about him and wanted to escape, not liking the unfamiliar presence around him. He made a lot of rustling under the sheets as his arm twitched out before him. He found himself unable to sit up and felt weak.

"Come quick! I think he's waking up!"

Adrien grimaced and gasped for air when he felt the onset of an excruciating pain in his side and closed his eyes shut in a poor attempt to stifle the pain, finding it difficult to open his mouth. His throat blazed when he realized how thirsty he was. He clenched his jaw and collapsed against the cloud supporting him, which he knew was a bed. Images of his previous struggle with his classmate turned villain rushed into his mind as a deluge of failure. However, he was finally able to piece the laughter and blue light from his time drift together as him holding on subconsciously to Ladybug. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes and threatened to crash when he allowed them to by squeezing them and they flooded his cheeks.

For a couple of minutes he sat there and let it mostly out, as best as he could before a woman of short stature approached him and asked if he was okay. She was a blur to him as his eyes were clouded by the sorrow he was engulfed by. Unable to open form a reply he internally calmed himself down enough to stop crying and tried to neutralize his face. She looked at him worriedly and attempted to explain a bit of his surrounding. So many questions flooded into his mind.

"When we found you out in the wilderness, we tried to patch you up the best we could. You had a few wounds which seemed stopped in time, but looks like they are coming back since you've awoken. We actually thought you may have been dead, but Rose didn't lose hope for you," the one with the deep voice quickly explained over her companion.

As the tears stopped, he was allowed to see the figures around him clearly, he noticed them as three people from his class: Rose, Juleka and Kim. He blinked slowly as he realized he was alive.

"Good thing for all those first aid classes huh?" Juleka smiled at him shyly.

Adrien attempted to smile but it fell weak before his closed his eyes remembering how they were defeated and it was consuming him. Moments later, he opened his eyes and focused on the glowing colors he saw when he first stepped into the world of the living. He saw an intricate design of stained glass above him and felt at ease. He coughed as his throat felt ablaze but finally uttered a few words.

"Where is this?" he finally unlocked his jaw to speak, turning his head towards Kim.

Kim motioned at Rose and she nodded, bringing him something to sit on so Adrien wouldn't have to struggle much in keeping eye contact. Kim sat down and folded his hands in front of him, speaking almost grimly.

"Well... After Nino and Alya ushered us to safety nearby the college, we saw giant pillars of light shoot up towards the sky. We realized the entire city of Paris was trapped by this light prison. Luckily, we were just out of danger when they cut through buildings around us, including the college. Don't worry, no one was inside when that happened. However," he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and a flash of gloom was reflected in his eyes.

Juleka sat next to Kim and placed her hand in a comforting manner on his shoulder and finished for him.

"A little while after the pillars appeared, we heard something unworldly which sounded like laughter, and a haunting sound. The pillars crashed onto Paris and we thought for certain we were goners."

She laughed nervously and fidgeted a moment.

"When I woke up, I thought for certain I was in the afterlife, but then I found Kim nearby, passed out. Rose wasn't too far away and I was happy to see her unscathed but we are still looking for others. That's when Rose found you and Kim carried you here."

She smiled fondly and her cheeks lifted to change her eye shape into happiness but it faded in a flash. "All I can say for certain is we aren't in Paris and we have no idea where we actually are. I hope my brother is okay."

Rose reached for her arm, delicately touching her to support her friend. "I'm sure he's fine!" she squeaked. Adrien grimaced once more, not being too sure about that and bit his lip hard as their failure led to this situation. He swallowed hard and groaned as he felt needles shoot up through his throat.

"Water..." he pleaded looking at Juleka. Rose quickly rushed to him with a cup and brought it to his lips which he drank from greedily.

"Hey, drink it slowly!" she giggled, happy to see he was no longer an unresponsive body. He slowed down his drinking as to not choke on the liquid and felt relief wash over him in the same manner the liquid quelled the fire in his throat. He shivered slightly as the breeze picked up as the water was also cool.

"Have you seen Nino?" Adrien blurted out, remembering he was helping Alya usher everyone to safety.

Rose's lip trembled slightly, hesitating to answer, but it went unnoticed by him but not by her companions. Adrien's brow furrowed remembering the three people he thought of as he was shot. He wondered the most about Marinette, which was surprising even to himself. Her gentle smile and deeply intense eyes flooded briefly into his vision. He quickly reminded himself that she was very resourceful even if a little clumsy. As for Alya, she would most likely be with Nino and the duo shared qualities which would help them in any situation. He let his worry drop for now. There was no use as it was far out of his control and he believed in them.

"Um, there's something else," Rose squeaked shyly. Her voice at that moment was the softest he had ever heard her in the small time frame of knowing her. She padded over to his injured side and stopped when he looked at her quixotically. She ghosted her hand near his side, bringing her hand closer to the spot of his pain, and he continued to look at her confused. He could muster the strength to move away from her, but didn't need to. She wouldn't hurt him on purpose. Her hand never made direct contact with his skin but she concentrated, sticking out her tongue and hovered her hand for moments before his eyes flickered to a gentle light resonating from where she held her hand. He immediately felt soothed and the pulsating pain had subsided.

"I didn't want to try until you had woken up because the first time I did it, it came back. Also! It really tires me out because it's so new," she quickly explained.

When she withdrew her hand, he felt something indescribable rush over his skin and he felt slightly fuzzy. The pain completely ceased when the light dimmed.

"What was that?" he whispered, baffled by what just happened. The only thing he could think of was she was a Miraculous holder, but didn't press further.

 _Wait. Miraculous._

His face immediately changed when he realized he wasn't in suit. When he was blown away by Universitas, he was Chat Noir. He came unable to feel Plagg's presence nearby and shifted his eyes to his hand and internally screamed when he saw the ring was not there. He couldn't say anything about it at the moment because of Ladybug's rule of secret identities. He clenched his fists. He would travel down that road when he recovered.

Rose looked at him as his face changed thinking he was scared of what she did but she quietly explained, gaining his attention once more and his face softened.

"After we came here and we woke up, I discovered I was blessed with Ether. Emma explained it to us. It was so confusing, but she trained me on how to harness it. I'm not very good though," she admitted averting her eyes.

"Oh stop. You're doing fine with it and you will become better. Look what you did for Adrien," Juleka smiled at her friend and Rose returned it with a small smile not unnoticed by those around her.

"Adrien, when we found you laying near the river nearby, we didn't see anyone with you. Nor were you in the building with us. How did you get here?"

It was Kim speaking, sounding slightly suspicious of him. Adrien's eyes shot to where Kim was still sitting, his arms folded. He argued internally with himself, trying to create a cover of why he was alone, but couldn't reveal who he was just yet.

"It doesn't matter! What matters is he is here and that means that others could be out there, alone!"

Rose squeaked in defense of Adrien and felt thankful for her at that moment. Adrien just shrugged at Kim.

"A-Anyway. With the discovery of you, Sabrina has been out by herself trying to find any signs of recovering Chloe but we haven't seen her in months," Juleka quickly changed the subject.

"Sabrina?" Adrien wondered aloud.

"Yes, she's been helping us get food and things like that. She's quite good at hunting, which surprised us. We thought she couldn't survive without Chloe!"

Laughter filled the room and Adrien knew it things would be alright for now.

* * *

Meanwhile, a shadow was concealed within the tall grass and trees using the coverage as a vantage point as it moved closer towards the object of interest. The shape smiled and whispered inaudibly.

"I've finally found you."


End file.
